mader



Sept. 21 1926. v 1,600,834

. O. MADER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FOR FLYING MACHINES,

Filed Jun 30, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept.' 21 1926. 1,600,834

0. MADER SUPPORTING STRUCTURE FER FLYING'MACHINES I Filed June' 50, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept 21, 1926.

UNITED "srArE ;-1,00,834 PAT NT] OFFICE.

o'r'ro MADER, or nnssau, GERMANY, AssIeNoR To HUGO JUNKERS, on Nissan, v '1 GERMANY; A I J r- SQUIIVPORTING STRUCTURE non FLYING MACHINES,

7 Application filed June 30, 1922, Serial No. 572,104, and in Germany July 7, 1921,

My invention relates in general to a supporting structureconsisting of, or'having, a pluralityof spaced supporting planes or wings; in particular theinvention consists in arranging two or more supporting planes or wings,'or supporting members of similar transverse section, especially such shaped" according to stream-lines, in steps 'or' in staggered relation in such a manner, that the rear edge ,of the first or foremost wing and, perhaps, alsoof the second, and, may be, of a third etc. wing, too, is positioned at a moderate distance above and to the rear of the front edge of the" next-succeeding wing, there being formed in this way be-' tween two consecutive wings a rearwardly' directed air passage which terminates abovein the longitudinal direction of the ma chine; it amountsfiat the highest to about 30 or even less of the depth of the small wing. g

The aerodynamic conditions obtained with this novel arrangement are materially im-" proved in that air is conducted from the lower surface of themain wing to the upper surface of the a-uxiliary wing through the passage or channel between them which acts similarly to a nozzle. Owing to this supply of air theconditions of flow of the air at the upper wing surface are improved and the formation of eddies is diminished in this place. If there are more than one auxiliary wing, the co-operation'of the first with the second, and so on, -is the same as ofthe main wing with the first auxiliary one.

This improvement of the conditions of the flow of air as brought about by the novel wing arrangement, entails a remarkable augmentation of the raising force or buoyancy, without an excessive increase of the noxious resistance. v

The novel supporting wing arrangement thus offers the great advantage that a flying machine intended to carry a certain total load may, from the beginning, be

equipped with a materially smaller supporting surface than'the usual arrangement requires. The manufacturing costs are, therefore, considerably reduced, and the machine may be more easily manipulated and steered, Besides, the smaller supporting planes or wings are subjected to a smaller I bending stress in consequence of the smaller bending moment, and they may,-thus, be of a lighter construction. 3

Another important improvement consists in the" feature that the auxiliary wing, or wings, is, or are, movable about a joint, or joints, extendingtransversely tothe direction of flight. If there are more than one auxiliary wing, either the two or more wings may be singly adjustable with respect to the main Wing, or they'may all be adjusted at atime, or both possibilities may be provided for. v

I am aware of the fact that the main supporting plan'eor wing has already been combined with a special oscillatory auxiliary wing, ,or a plurality of such (the so-called vertical rudders), but this wing, or those wings, served solely for steering purposes, not to increase the buoyancy. If the auxiliary wing is, or the auxiliary wings are, ointed to its, or their, supporting 'members it is very advantageous to shape all wings, i. e. the main wing and the auxiliary one or ones, in conformity with regular supporting plane profiles, because then a particuiarly "good flowing off of the air with respect to'the various positions of the wings may be obtained.

The novel wing arrangement with its adjustableauxiliary wings actssimilarly to a supporting planewith variable arching, but its practical realization is attended with some more advantages; It is true that the buoying capacity of sucha supporting plane may be increased by making the vault higher but then the drawback is'obtained that this strongly vaulted plane offers a comparatively great resistance which renders starting difficult and is disadvantageous also in regard to the economy of theflying machine. I f Y Y With the novel arrangement the combination'of the adjustibility of certain members of the suporting structure with the slotefi'ect produces the further effect that high maximum buoyancy values are attained, but in the normal flying position the resistance is not materially more unfavorable than with a single supporting plane.

It movable auxiliary wings are employed it is preferable, so to choose their tulcrums that it a wing is turned to increase the buoy- V ancy, the air gap is narrowed, without, however, being completely closed when that wing has arrived in its end position, since that would means losing the favorable slot effect.

The novel construction of the supporting structure is advantageous also in so far as it facilitates the starting. Flying machines with simple rigid supporting planes wnen starting,*i. e. at the running start are as a rule adjusted first ten reduced angle of inclination, and then, for the lifting, to an appropriately greater angle. The flying machine must, thus, be supported only in a transverse axis. Moreover, its tail must have an unfavorably high position in order to let it have the required freedom of oscillation.

These conditions which render ditficult the manipulation and operation of the machine are obviated by the novel arrangement inasmuch as it is now possible by 'merely adjustii'ig the auxiliary wings to in crease the buoyancy of the supporting structure at the moment of starting to such a degree that the machine will rise without any necessity for the pilot to make the whole machine turn about a transverse axis. Lhe flying machine may, thus, also at the start be supported on a plane, for in: ance with the aid of two axles which are arranged one behind the other in the direction of the starting run, and may lie the one far in front of, the other far behind, the centre ofg'ravity whereby the stability of the ay- 7 nachine is warranted and the dreaded over is prevented. The tail end more be positioned particularly high to secure a proper start. The body even it extending deeplydownward at the of lar gfes; section, may, thus, have a horizontal. niddle line extending in the direction of the propelling power.

hen iZJitllIUf, a slow lancing' speed and safe touching-or the ground 1 ay be attained in a corresponding manner solely by an appropriate adjustment of the auxiliary wm -'s, without any necessity of letting" the fiying machine, a whole, make comparatively extended turning movements about its transverse axis.

The novel construction thus permits of simplifying, and rendering secure, the starting, well as the landing.

The fact that the necessity of turning the whole flying machine about a transversal axis is avoided is especially important for passenger flying machines, quite especially for the reason that such turning motions in fluence unfavorably passengers.

It necessary, the auxiliary wings may be adjusteifl also in such a manner that a deviation results. This is advantageous in the case where the flying machine must he lett standing in the open for a comparatively long time, since then the wind will tend to press the machii'ie'down to the ground. Therefore, the dangers of littin and of upsetting by the wind which normal flying machines are exposed to is considerably reduced.

The auxiliary wings may be utilized not only for the" regulation of the buoyancy power of the "flying; machine, but also horizontal and vertical rudders, and it is possible to so arrange them that the same the confidence of the a ti portion of an auxiliary wing may be utilized as horizontal rudder and vertical. rut der The arrangement may, for instance, be such that the auxiliary wing of a supporting structure extending across the whole width of the flying machine is divided into three portions, of which the middle serves as vertical rudder, whereas the lateral portions may be used as horizontal rudders, independent of the middle onef Another possibility consists in subdividing the auxiliary wing only in two portions which are either moved oppositely to one another so as to serve as horizontal rudders, or in the same direction when they act as vertical rudders. In this la ter case a steering gear is preferably employed having a member which may be moved either in diiterent directions 01. in adi'iierent manner (rotation and displacement), its motion in the one direction or manner producing the one kind of motion oi the two wing portions, and its motion'in the other direction or manner portions. y 7

in the drawings aflixeri to this specification and forming part th several sup porting structures embodying my invention are illustrated diagrammatically by way of example.

In the drawings Figs. 1, 2, 3, 1 and 12 show merely the supporting wings,

Figs. 8 and 10 showing the WlllQ'S, as wellas means for operating them,

Figs. 9 and 11 showing merely these operating means, and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7, showing the wings at tached to a flying machine, as is more fully described hereinafter.

Referring first to Fig. l of the drawings, 1 is a main supporting wing ot substantially normal configuration. To the rear of this wing there is rigidly disposed an auxiliary supporting wing 2, the upper side of which has approximately the same shape main Wing 1 extends somewhat beyond or overlaps the. front edge 5' of theauxiliary wing 2, whereby a passage or channel or slot .3, is formed. between the two wings.

with straight middle line, but if desired it may be shaped in conformity .with support ing planes having a transverse middle line curved upwards.

I In the second modification shown in Fig.

2 the main wing -1 is practically the same as that illustrated in: Fig. 1, but the auxilis ary wing 2 is'hinged at 6 to tin-like supporting arms 7. Thepositions'of the hinges '6 at the auXiliary'wing 2 .is such that this latteris supported nearits buoyancy middle line and requires, therefore, butlittle power for. varying .its position. the hinges 5 with'respect to the main wing is, however, such that a suiiiciently large free sectional area of the slot 3 is always providedirrespective'of to which position the wingiZ may have-been adjusted."

' Inthe modification disclosed in Fig. 8 the main wingl hasapractically the same shape asthe corresponding wing in Figs' a tail-portion 9 hinged at 8' toythe bodyof this win the auxiliar i Win 2 issimila-r to the one shown in Fig. 2, but the arms '7 are fixed to the body of the. wing lin front of the joint 8.. Owing to the movability of the tail portion 9 it is possible to adjust this latter with respect to the position the wing2' may have,in such a manner, that the. most favorable width .of the slot 3 is attained. Rods may becprovided by aid of which the-tail :9 and the wing 2 may be simultaneously and: positively adjusted.

Instead 'of'hinging a rigid tail, such as 9,

to the body 201" the main wing, acfi'xed, but flexible tail may be provided. I

5'shows the wings of Fig. 2 attached to the body of a flying machine; besides, it ishows that and "howa flying machine body equipped with the novel com- The position of nected with the steering gear.

bination ofwings maybe supported'on the ground by front wheels ll and rear wl'ieels 1'2 iwhich in'contradistinotion to the usual construction are spaced widely apart, whereby the machine is stably supported in longitudinal. direction. Fig. 5 further shows that the tail of the comparatively low hull is located close to the ground. This is rendered possible by the adjustable auxiliary wings 2 becausethe total buoyancy. ofv the supporting, structure 1, 2 can be increased'by an appropriate adjustment of the wing 2-, in a degree sufii'cijent to lift the machine" from the ground, without the necessity, of enlarging. the angle of inclination by turning down the tail portion.

- The plan view illustrated in Fig. 6 shows that a main wing, such as 1, may be provided with a' plurality of smaller auxiliary wings which allow of being singly turned. In this particular instance, a central auxiliary wingfZ" and two lateral auxiliary wings 2 are provided,theselatter. being connected with one another by a steering gear (not shown) by aid of which they can-be oscillated in opposite directions so as to be capable of serving as horizontal rudders.-

The effect produced with rudders constructed and arranged contormably with this lnvention is particularly vigorous and favorable for .the steering inasmuchas owing to the slot or passage forthe air. providedat their front edges they render possible material variations of the buoyancy without excessive variations of the resistance to flight; The central auxiliary wing 2*, i. eJthe verticalrudder, is, as such, conlhe wings 2? and 2 maybe operated by a cannon lever or one. of the well-known equivalent members by the actuation of whlch the wings, .Ztare made'to act as horizontal rud- V ders and the wing 2 is made-to act as vertical rudder, but the respective steering de-" vice may also be so devised that the wings 2 are oppositely moved so as to assist the WingQK 1,

Fig. 7 shows a modification (drawn to'a smaller scale) ,with merely two auxiliary" wings 2 extending from the middle outwards. -Thesewings may be oscillated by difierent steering gears both at a time either in the same direction or in opposite ,direc" tions. H In the first case they operate as horizontal rudders, in the other case as vertical ones. I The'wings may either have a com mon steering gear or a separate steering .lever :may beprovided for eachof them.

,A steering gear byithe aid of which the w ngs may beactuated. at a time, either in the same direction or in opposite directions, is 1llustrated,.by way of example, 1n'F1gures 8 and.: 9. This steering gear consists of an axle or, a shaft 17, a steering lever .19 hinged to. it at the one end, two *bell;

crank levers 16 hinged to the other end two rods 18 connecting the lever 19 with one arm of each lever 16, and two rods connecting the other arms of the levers 16 with levers or crank arms 14 fixed to the hinge pins 6 of the wings 2. The levers 19 and 16 may be rocked forward and backward whereby the wings are oscillated in the same direction, but if the lever 19 is moved laterally in one or the other direction, the axle or shaft 17 is correspondingly turned, as is also the lever 15, whereby the rods 15 are moved in opposite direction so that the wings 2 are also oscillated correspondingly.

F In the first case, therefore, the wings 2' act as vertical rudders, in the second case as horizontal rudders.

The wings 2 of the modification illustrated in Fig. 8 are supported from above in the manner shown in Fig. 5, but it is obvious that the same or equivalent or similar steering means may be employed also in connection with the examples shown in Figs. 2-4 or with any other modification embodying my invention. It is, furthermore, obvious that such and equivalent or similar steering means may be made use of also where there is a special central auxiliary wing, as in Figure 6.

Another steering gear is illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, of which Fig. 10 is a side elevation and Fig. 11 a front elevation. The auxiliary wings are suspended similarly to the manner shown in Fig. 2, but the supporting arm 7 has a rearwardly and clownwardly extending elongation 21 which serves as a support for a suspended rod 23 hinged at 22 to said extension 21 and carrying an upper sprocket wheel 27 and a lower sprocket wheel connected with each other by a chain 26. The shaft of the lower chain wheel projects rearwards and has a hand wheel 24: secured to it. The upper chain wheel is connected with the wings 2 by two connecting rods 29 attached to this wheel by ball-joints 28 and to the wings by ball-joints 30. The rod 23 can be rocked forward and backward whereby the wings 2 are simultaneously oscillated in the same manner and act as vertical rudders. But if the hand wheel 24 is turned in the one or the other direction, this motion is transmitted to the wings by the mediation of the chain wheels 25 and 27, the chain 26 and the connecting rods 29, whereby the wings are oscillated in opposite directions and act as horizontal rudders. 1

In the modification shown in Fig. 12 the of the steering gear illustrated this rudder is caused toassume a substantially horizontal position wherever the wing 2 is turned down in such a manner that the vertical steering effect is increased.

Besides the supporting structure, also the separate steering means may be designed to form a combination of surfaces such as or similar to, the novel supporting structure in order to increase the steering effect. In that case the damping surface takes the place of the main wing 1, and the rudder that of the auxiliary wing 2. This is especially valuable in connection with mainly positively loaded vertical rudders such, for instance, as the vertical rudders of flying machines of the duck type which are arranged at the front of the machine, but also for vertical rudders arranged symmetrically with re spect to the middle plane of the machine and at a comparatively great distance from this plane, and which are required to exert a steering eflect only to one or the other side.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be restricted to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will readily occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim 1. Flying machine comprising a plurality of surfaces arranged one to the rear of and adjusted relatively to the other, the forward edge of the adjustable surface extending in close proximity to and below and in all relative positions of the parts somewhat forward of the rear edge of the surface arranged in front thereof, said adjustable surface being adapted to be oscillated as a whole about an axis extendin transversely to the directionof propulsion in such a position, that, on the angle of inclination of the said adjustable surface being increased, the nozzle-like gap between the two surfaces becomes narrower.

2. Flying machine comprising a plurality of surfaces arranged one to the rear of and adjustable relatively to the other, the forward edge of the adjustable surface extending in close. proximity to and below and in all relative positions of the parts somewhat forward of the rear edge of the surface arranged in front thereof, said adjustable surface being adapted to be oscillated as a whole about an axis extending transversely to the directionof propulsion in such a position, that, on the angle of inclination of the said adjustable surface being increased, the nozzle-like gap between the two surfaces become narrower, the axis of oscillation being so positioned with regard to the front surface that on the rear surface being inclined as far as admissible the gap will not be closed altogether. v

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

' OTTO MADER. 

